Elliott Smith is one of my favorites, without a doubt. XO is a brilliant album - it still gets me.

As for the drug use, he definitely had problems but i read somewhere that he was in a clean phase when he killed himself. That he was even "too clean" in a way, not taking the anti-depressants that he should've been taken. I would attribute his death to depression - even mental illness. The drugs were a side-effect, i think - a coping mechanism.

Enough of that though. For any major fan, i would definitely recommend the this site (http://www.elliottsmithbsides.com/) - it has tonnes of songs, b-sides etc, that aren't available anymore.

__________________Nobody likes a spook, or so I've deducedBut I have loved some ghosts in my time

^yeah he was clean in his last year, after reading that infamous spin article they wrote on him (i recommend it, it's kinda hard to read, but it gives you a lot of insight into him) but he did abuse his prescriptions the first couple months he was sober, but at the time of the death he was virtually clean.

I think he's amazing, truly an amazing person. I was very fortunate to see him during his last months. He was just one of those people that were
born to make music, that didn't care about making money or fame, but toactually have people hear him.